Chapter Four
A/N: Draco confronts Hermione and gets rejected. Poor Draco.
wails.
But I had to do this. Lol. I'm not yet a Harry/Draco shipper. Also, Harry doesn't appear to be with Ginny – yet. So there's still a chance for a Harry/Draco pairing!
"Hermione."
Hermione stirred. "Go away," she muttered.
"Hermione." The persistent voice didn't go away as she had requested.
Hermione woke up and saw Draco Malfoy staring back into her face. She was shocked to see the person she had decided to hate earlier that day confronting her so soon.
"What?" she snapped. Draco cringed and swallowed.
"I bought some food for you." He said nervously and put a pack of Chocolate Frogs on the table. He was about to leave when he realized that Hermione hadn't eaten anything the entire day. He ought to know, he had watched her cry for the entire day. And so he had ran out to buy the first pack of Chocolate Frogs he could find.
The tears welled up in Hermione's eyes again. Ron had given her Chocolate Frogs for her birthday the last year. She had thrown a tantrum at him because she wanted flowers. And Ron had been the victim of her temper that day.
"Just go away and leave me alone," Hermione said and resisted the urge to burst into tears.
Draco left. Not because he didn't care about her, but because he didn't know how to care for her.
When Hermione was done crying, she decided to Apparate home. This time she did it with a clear mind and just the right amount of Determination. She felt a slight pang as she remembered the Apparating lessons she had taken with Ron in their sixth year. But this time she Apparated and landed right in the middle of her apartment. She smiled slightly. This was more like the old Hermione.
Hermione walked slowly to her mirror and stared at her reflection.
I look horrible, she thought to herself. And this isn't like me at all.
The confrontation with Draco earlier on had somehow made her come to her senses. She felt useless for the first time in her entire life, and realized that she had wasted quite a lot of time. And this time, Hermione was determined to go back to her old self. The very same confident know-it-all, she thought and smiled to herself.
Hermione slept soundly for the first time in months that night.
The next day Hermione Apparated to work. Draco had taken the same long route in an attempt to 'accidentally bump into' Hermione again, to no avail. He cursed himself when he reached the office. He was late for work.
"Malfoy." Hermione addressed him coolly as he turned up panting. Draco cursed himself again. "Erm, Hermione-" he began. Hermione merely gave him a look. "Please give a valid reason for your lateness on your second day of work." She stated firmly.
Draco looked at her in surprise. Hermione was behaving so weirdly, he almost thought she had went back to being her old self. "I walked," he said, hoping that honesty would pay off. It did not.
"That is not a valid reason," Hermione snapped. "You took Apparating lessons for a use, you know," she continued. "I expect the report on The Alliance Seeking For Ban Against Exploding Snap to be on my table by ten thirty. And do not let this happen again."
Draco searched Hermione's face for a hint of smile. He never found it.
"Yes, Hermione,' he said glumly. It looked like Hermione had gone back to being her know-it-all self, with a newfound dislike for Draco.
Hermione turned sharply on her heel. Draco felt his heart plummet. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like this new old Hermione.
Hermione paused for a moment before turning back. "Malfoy?" she said.
Draco felt his hopes go high up. "Yes?" he said eagerly.
"In the future, you will address me as Miss Granger." Hermione said coolly.
Draco walked slowly back to his table, feeling disappointed and slightly angry. He had nobody to blame but himself.
It was noon time. Hermione had barely glanced up from her work throughout the day so far. Everybody outside got up chattering excitedly, and most of them left in groups for lunch.
She yawned. And then stopped as she realized that Draco was the only one who had not left for lunch.
Damn that Draco, she thought angrily. In her heart, Hermione couldn't blame Draco. Even if he had told his father about Ron. Deep down in her heart Hermione actually yearned to be Draco's friend. She knew what he had been through and she felt something towards him. That something resembled pity, and – something else. She couldn't explain the feeling. But she had been determined to hate him. For Ron's sake.
Her eyes met Draco's eyes as he looked up quizzically from his work. In her heart there came a pang. She scowled to herself and quickly looked away. But there was no denying it. Her heart had definitely reacted. I knew this wasn't over, Hermione thought guiltily.
There was something between her and Draco, Hermione thought. And shaking off this thought, she went back to her work and tried to pretend that she wasn't interested to find out what that something was.
Draco Malfoy looked at the page he had been reading for the last five minutes. He had caught Hermione's eye earlier on but she had looked away quickly. Nevertheless, he had felt his heartbeat quicken.
He had no idea why he was so concerned about her but there was one thing he knew for sure. If ever Hermione forgave him about Ron, he hoped that she would never find out about the other thing, that would break his and Hermione's friendship (if it even existed) into pieces.
JE: Michelle, don't you dare make a gay relationship! Ginny is supposed to be with Harry.
Please review, and persuade this author that yaoi is not essential for a good fic.